OVERDRIVE RACING ENTERS FIVE CARS IN BAJA POLAND AS NASSER AL-ATTIYAH BIDS TO CONFIRM FIA WORLD CUP TITLE

· Dabrowski, Chabot, Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Jes Munk complete team line-up 

Overdrive Racing’s season of FIA World Cup for Cross-Country rallying continues when it enters five Toyota Hiluxes in this weekend’s Columna Medica Baja Poland, round seven of the nine-event series, in Szczecin in northwestern Poland

 FIA World Cup leader Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah returns from a disappointing skeet shooting programme at the Rio Olympics to try and secure a fifth successive rally victory since joining Overdrive Racing before the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in April.

 The Qatari again teams up with French navigator Matthieu Baumel and arrives in Szczecin with a massive 88-point lead in the title race. Victory in Poland would give the Qatari a total of 210 points and make it mathematically impossible for him to be caught with two events remaining in Morocco and Portugal.

 The Polish duo of Marek Dabrowski and Jacek Czachor return to cross-country action in the second Team Orlen car and aim to improve on the driver’s sixth position in the championship standings. The duo finished fifth on their home event last year in a Toyota Hilux.

 Frenchman Ronan Chabot and his navigator Gilles Pillot crew the third car and the Dane Jes Munk and Polish co-driver Rafal Marton return to action with Overdrive Racing for the first time since visa issues forced them to withdraw prematurely from the recent Silk Way Rally in Asia to occupy the fourth Toyota. Chabot and Pillot enjoyed a successful Dakar outing with the team in January.

 Al-Attiyah’s brother Khalifa drives the fifth car with backing from the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF). Although a relative newcomer to the discipline of off-road rallying, Khalifa has considerable experience of FIA Middle East special stage rallying and teams up with Belgian co-driver Stéphane Prevot. The duo finished July’s Baja Spain Aragon together in 13th position, but retired from the recent Hungarian Baja.

 Overdrive Racing has also supplied a sixth car for the Polish duo of Marcin Maluszynski and Julita Maluszynska.

  “This is another important event for Overdrive Racing and a superb opportunity for Nasser and Matthieu to secure the title for the team and for our other drivers to continue their experience with the Toyota Hilux,” said Overdrive Racing’s CEO Jean-Marc Fortin.

 Columna Medica Rally Poland is being organised by Foundation Baja Poland and takes place in the Szczecin, Dobra, and Zachodniopomorskie areas and across the military zone in Drawsko Pomorskie. The host city of Szczecin is the seventh largest in the country and the capital of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship.

 The Northeast Marina will host scrutineering checks and administration in Szczecin on Thursday (August 25), before crews will be permitted to carry out a shakedown test at the nearby military range on Friday morning.

 After the ceremonial start in Szczecin at 17.00hrs on Friday evening, teams will then tackle the opening 6.9km super special stage in the militarised area from 18.00hrs.

 Saturday’s action comprises two selective sections of 175km apiece in the militarised area around Drawsko Pomorskie from 08.20hrs and 13.40hrs.

 Sunday’s action consists of two repeat runs through a pair of shorter special stages of 39.50km and 18.20km in length. These Dobra and Lubieszyhn specials will then be repeated at 12.30hrs and 13.20hrs, before the ceremonial finish in the Szczecin Rally Park from 14.30pm. In a total route of 787.68km, teams will tackle a total of 472.30 competitive kilometres.

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Paulo Gonçalves disputa Campeonato do Mundo no Chile

Piloto português inicia esta segunda-feira o Atacama Rally, a quarta prova do Campeonato do Mundo de Ralis Todo-o-Terreno. 

Paulo Gonçalves participa com a equipa oficial Honda no Atacama Rally, quarta prova do calendário de 2016 do Campeonato do Mundo de Ralis TT que tem lugar no Chile até ao próximo sábado, 27 de agosto, com o exigente deserto do Atacama a servir como pano de fundo da competição.

 Composto por um prólogo, a realizar já esta segunda-feira, e mais cinco etapas extensíveis até ao dia de sábado, o Atacama Rally será mais um importante teste de preparação de Paulo Gonçalves e da equipa HRC para a próxima edição do Rali Dakar, prova que parte a 2 de janeiro de 2017 da cidade de Assunção, no Paraguai, e ruma a Buenos Aires, na Argentina, palco de meta para os resistentes depois de mais uma passagem “festiva” pela Bolívia.

 Ausente da totalidade do Campeonato do Mundo de Ralis Todo-o-Terreno em 2016, competição que venceu em 2013, foi segundo em 2014 e terceiro em 2015, Paulo Gonçalves e a equipa Honda optaram este ano por realizar apenas as provas de maior interesse na preparação para o Dakar, a maior competição do mundo da especialidade e que teve já o piloto de Esposende e a Honda muito próximos de alcançar a vitória final na passada edição de 2015.

 Paulo Gonçalves: “O Atacama Rally será mais um importante desafio de preparação para o Dakar. Apesar de não termos o Chile na lista de países que recebem o Dakar em 2017, o seu território e a exigência dos seus percursos, principalmente do deserto do Atacama, permitem-nos testar com grande eficácia os novos upgrades da Honda CRF450 Rally em contexto de competição. O importante é estar sempre na frente da corrida, com um bom ritmo e com a mota sempre a responder positivamente ao desafio.”

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From north to south: the Atacama Rally, next mission for Team HRC

Team HRC is fully-booked over the next few days. While Joan Barreda and Michael Metge have been taking part and dominate the ‘Vegas to Reno’ race in the United States, the rest of the team – Paulo Gonçalves, Ricky Brabec and Kevin Benavides – are competing in Chile at the Atacama Rally, the penultimate date of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.

 The preparations for the 2017 Dakar Rally continue for Team HRC after the successes achieved in the recent Merzouga Rally, the Desafío Ruta 40 and Baja Aragón, which saw the official Honda factory riders grab top honours in all of these events.

 For the Atacama Rally, Team HRC line up Portuguese stalwart Paulo Gonçalves, alongside young guns American Ricky Brabec and Argentinean Kevin Benavides, who get to savour the demands of the Chilean desert once more. This should provide Gonçalves with a useful opportunity to clock up more mileage after a sound performance in the Desafío Ruta 40. Ricky Brabec will get his first chance to ride the Chilean rally, which will offer the young American ample possibilities to improve navigation skills.

Argentinean rider Kevin Benavides goes in search of more silverware after wins in the Merzouga Rally, Ruta 40 and the third round of the Argentinean Cross Country championship: the La Cumbre Rally. Argentinian rider Franco Caimi is racing in the Atacama Rally with Honda South America Team on a CRF 450 RALLY bike after demonstrating his rally capabilities in the last Desafío Ruta 40.

 Over the coming week, the three riders from Team HRC and the Honda CRF450 RALLY will battle it out in the northern area of the South American country, in the driest desert in the world. The Atacama Rally, with a total of 1800 kilometres, features a high percentage of timed special stages and some high-profile participants.

 Once the administrative and technical checks are passed, Team HRC get down to business with a prologue on the outskirts of Antofagasta, the fifth biggest city in the country. The first stage gets underway on Tuesday with a loop starting and finishing in Antofagasta. The Atacama Rally will wrap up in the heart of the Atacama Desert in Copiapó on 27th August.

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Joan Barreda, untouchable in the Vegas to Reno race

Team HRC’s Joan Barreda has scooped a fine win in the twentieth edition of America’s legendary ‘Vegas to Reno’. The Spaniard, astride the Honda CRF450 RALLY, dominated the 1000 kilometres of Nevada dust and desert which connect the two cities.

 Joan Barreda proved to be the fastest over the 644 mile ‘Vegas to Reno’ – the longest off-road race in the USA. The race, now in its twentieth year, featured no less than 342 participants. This is the second straight win for Joan Barreda after July’s Baja Aragón triumph and the fourth consecutive victory for Team HRC. The growing list includes: the Merzouga Rally in Morocco, the Desafío Ruta 40 in Argentina, Spain’s Baja Aragón and now the Vegas to Reno race in the U.S.

 Joan Barreda and Michael Metge made it clear that the Honda CRF450 RALLY is a lethal weapon in the desert. The Spanish rider, starting out from third position, finished the first day’s 475 kilometre stint in second spot. Barreda continued to up the ante with an excellent performance on his maiden Nevada Desert adventure. The Team HRC rider then scorched through the 560 kilometres of dust on day two, holding the lead throughout the day and crossing the line with a 7’30” advantage over the nearest second-place rival.

 Frenchman Metge favoured less well after a heavy blow to the rear wheel in the first stage made handling difficult. In addition, the rider was sanctioned with a hefty 30 minute penalty for changing the wheel. In spite of having to start from back in twentieth position on Sunday, Metge fought back through the accumulation of dust on the track to take fifth spot on the day and sixth overall.

 Team HRC have spent several weeks testing in the Californian desert under the auspices of Johnny Campbell and the JCR Team, who also offered assistance throughout the Vegas to Reno race. The American expressed his satisfaction at the way the team have worked: “We’ve worked really hard with the riders over the last few weeks, both myself and the guys from the JCR Team. We had a great time working with Joan and Mika and I hope to work with Team HRC to achieve the victory at the Dakar. I wish to thank Joan, Mika, all at Team HRC and the staff of JCR for a great job done in the Vegas to Reno 2016, achieving a great triumph for Team HRC. Many thanks also to Taichi Honda and Team HRC for placing their trust in Team JCR to help build a better programme to win the 2017 Rally Dakar”.

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Com o ASX Racing e L200 Triton SR, Ralliart Brasil encara os 3.000 km do Rally dos Sertões

Guilherme Spinelli / Youssef Haddad e Sylvio de Barros / Rafael Capoani se preparam para a maior competição do off-road nacional, que larga no dia 3 de setembro de Goiânia (GO)

 A Ralliart Brasil, divisão de alta performance da Mitsubishi Motors, estará novamente presente no Rally dos Sertões, o maior rali do Brasil, com dois carros: o ASX Racing, campeão geral em 2015, e a L200 Triton SR, tricampeão da categoria Protótipos T1.

 Guilherme Spinelli, o maior campeão do Sertões com cinco títulos, volta a correr ao lado de Youssef Haddad, com quem tem três títulos na prova. Eles estarão a bordo do ASX Racing, veículo projetado para encarar os maiores desafios do planeta.

 O navegador Marcelo Vivolo, que participou de duas etapas do Campeonato Brasileiro de Rally Cross-country ao lado de Guiga neste ano, permanece na equipe mas, nessa competição, dá lugar a Youssef, que é o engenheiro da Ralliart Brasil e poderá observar in loco as evoluções aplicadas no ASX Racing.

"Não há feedback melhor do que participar de uma prova como o Sertões e observar o desenvolvimento do carro. Em provas longas como essa, o trabalho da dupla vai muito além da navegação e pilotagem", explica Youssef.

  "Estamos trabalhando no desenvolvimento do ASX Racing desde o Rally Dakar. Ter o Youssef como navegador vai ajudar muito nesse processo, já que ele também é o engenheiro responsável pelo carro. Vamos somar forças para encarar o maior desafio em terras brasileiras", ressalta o piloto, que vai para o seu 16º Sertões.

 A largada da prova será no dia 3 de setembro, em Goiânia (GO), e a chegada, no dia 10/9, em Palmas (TO). A competição passará também pelo Estado da Bahia. Ao todo, serão 3.143 quilômetros de percurso, sendo 2.341 km de trechos cronometrados.

 A Equipe Ralliart Brasil, também terá a dupla Sylvio de Barros / Rafael Capoani, que irá encarar o Sertões 2016 com a L200 Triton SR, veículo três vezes campeão da competição na categoria Protótipos T1 e melhor carro nacional na disputa.

  Ralliart Brasil

Além do Rally dos Sertões, a Ralliart Brasil é responsável pela preparação, manutenção e desenvolvimento dos carros que são utilizados no rali cross-country de velocidade Mitsubishi Cup e na prova de pista Lancer Cup. Nessas competições, os veículos são locados aos pilotos através do sistema sit&drive, onde toda a manutenção, logística e preparação fica por conta da equipe especializada de engenheiros e mecânicos da divisão de alta performance.

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Barreda and Metge to take part in the ‘Vegas to Reno’

This weekend Team HRC riders Joan Barreda and Michael Metge are set to participate in the legendary ‘Vegas to Reno’ race, the longest off-road race in the United States, now in its twentieth edition.

 As a climax to several weeks of testing in the deserts of the United States, Team HRC’s Joan Barreda (Spain) and Michael Metge (France) will line up for the arduous ‘Vegas to Reno’ rally. Over two days -start on Friday 19th and end on Saturday 20th- riders will have to cover 644 miles (1036 kilometres) of the Nevada Desert in a race which connects the state’s two main cities: Las Vegas and Reno. It is the longest off-road race in the U.S. and is the seventh race in the ‘Best in the Desert’ calendar. Barreda and Metge will race in the ‘Vegas to Reno’ thanks to the logistical and technical assistance provided by team JCR’s Johnny Campbell and American Honda.

 The objective for the Team HRC riders is to continue the intense programme of testing that the Honda CRF450 RALLY has been forced to endure while the team sets up the bike ahead of the 2017 Rally Dakar.

 American Team HRC rider Ricky Brabec, who won the 2014 edition of the ‘Vegas to Reno’ won’t be taking part as he is currently in Chile for the Atacama Rally 2016 which will be held from 21st to 27th August. Brabec will ride the Chilean desert alongside fellow Honda CRF450 RALLY riders Paulo Gonçalves and Kevin Benavides.

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Hungarian Baja: Hirvonen wins his first Cross-Country-Rally

- One-two for the MINI ALL4 Racing 

- Menzies secures the fine second place 

In the Hungarian Baja, round six of the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup, two MINI ALL4 Racing pairings, Mikko Hirvonen / Michel Périn and Bryce Menzies / Pete Mortensen, outclassed the entire field. While Mikko Hirvonen celebrated his first win as MINI ALL4 Racing driver, the US-American added to the great MINI ALL4 racing result by finishing second, thus also securing his best result in raid rallying. At the same time, the two Dutchmen, Erik van Loon and Wouter Rosegaar, had to cope with a major dose of bad luck and were forced into early retirement.

 Apart from the prologue on Friday evening, the MINI ALL4 Racing won every single special stage. In the special stages two to four, Hirvonen / Périn always set the fastest time, with Menzies / Mortensen finishing second twice and fifth in the final stage. In the end, Hirvonen won the event with a six-second lead over Menzies. “I’m so happy about my first win the MINI and X-raid,” beamed Hirvonen. “We had a great weekend and everything ran perfectly. I hadn’t expected the Hungarian Baja to be so challenging and difficult. When I learned about the distances of the special stage I thought this would be a kind of a sprint event but they were very technical and on the slippery terrain tackling them often was anything but easy.”

 Menzies also was delighted with having finished runner-up, in his second Baja. “In the run-up I wasn’t aware what I would have to cope with and in the end, it proved to be a major challenge. There were high-speed sections across trees and open space with hard terrain,” said the US-American. “Between the trees I opted for a more careful approach as I don’t know the MINI that well and the track surface was extremely slippery. But I’m happy about the result and having finished that close behind a great driver, such as Mikko, is positive or me.” 

Van Loon and Rosegaar also delivered in fine style and wanted to push in the third special stage to keep their chances of securing a top result alive. But then, they got stuck in a ditch and a few metres later, the left rear wheel broke and they had to retire. “We proved that we have got what it takes to battle for the win,” the Dutchman said annoyed. “A pity that we couldn’t keep on demonstrating our competitiveness.”

 In only two weeks, the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup will be continued with the seventh round, the Baja Poland.

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Three MINI ALL4 Racing about to start in Hungary

• Hirvonen, Menzies and van Loon want to attack in Hungary 

• Baja Poland: Holowczyc on his home soil in a MINI ALL4 Racing 

In the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies short Bajas are on the schedule during this time of the year. After the Bajas in Italy and Spain the FIA World Cup moves on to the Hungarian Baja (12th -14th Aug 2016) and three MINI ALL4 Racing crews are going to participate in this three-day-event: Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) / Michel Périn (FRA) already were successful in Spain and now they want to continue to prepare for the WRC-like stages of the next Dakar. Bryce Menzies (USA) wants to gain more experience in the MINI ALL4 Racing. In Hungary, he will race with his compatriot Pete Mortensen with whom Menzies participates in US-races. The two Dutchmen Erik van Loon and Wouter Rosegaar are the first time back in their MINI ALL4 Racing after the Dakar in January.

 The Hungarian Baja will start on Friday evening with a prologue. After this ten kilometer stage the starting ceremony will take place in the middle of the historical city of Veszprém. On the following day all competitors will have to compete in a 170,24km long special stage which will be done twice. On Sunday, one stage of 170,72km is scheduled. The tight and twisty stages will lead the competitors through the woods of the military training area around the city of Veszprém.

 Already two weeks after the Hungarian Baja the team will move on to the Baja Poland, round seven of the FIA World Cup and Krzysztof Holowczyc in a MINI ALL4 Racing is going to be one of the competitors. Though the Polish sportsman has announced his retirement from cross country rallying last year, his heart still beats for the Baja in his home country. “The Baja Poland is a very important event for me. After I have announced my retirement last year in Szczecin, I already knew that I would do whatever it takes to participate here again. I will try my very best to take the victory for the sixth time.”

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